John praises women's sevens

The Wales women's sevens team will take part at the World Cup qualifying tournament

Wales men's sevens coach Paul John has paid tribute to the women's side after they cemented a place in the World Cup qualifying tournament in Russia.

The side strolled through the pre-qualifying stages in Bulgaria, not conceding a point as they sealed wins over Denmark, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria and Croatia.

Former Wales scrum-half John was full of praise for Sophie Bennett's team, who will now head to Russia for the next stage of the tournament later this month.

"Congratulations to the women's sevens team who won the tournament in Bulgaria without conceding a point," he said.

"To get a place in the World Cup qualifying tournament in Moscow is a huge achievement and it will be great to see them play."
Paul John Quotes of the week

"To get a place in the World Cup qualifying tournament in Moscow is a huge achievement and it will be great to see them play."

Massive lift

Coach Bennett, was delighted with the performances in Sofia and knows the effect that getting to Moscow will have in the camp.

"We had three warm-up tournaments to prepare for the weekend and qualification is a massive lift for the girls," she said.

"The girls have really taken a big step forward. We will be seeded 13th out of the 16 teams in Moscow and will be coming up against teams where sevens is high on the agenda like Spain and the Netherlands along with England and Russia.

"It's going to be a huge challenge but the girls are looking forward to it."